Our Curriculum
Education Paired with Preparation
Whether it's through our core classes or our elective courses, Hamilton Liberty Academy equips high schoolers with necessary life skills and critical thinking to set them up for a successful journey in both college or career.
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An engaging, accredited curriculum that is designed to lay the foundation to a successful future beyond high school
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A learning environment designed to help students discover their passions and prepare them for the future with college prep and career-readiness skills
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A class schedule designed to meet the required 22 credits for graduation, with opportunity to graduate with Honors at 26 credits
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A curriculum structured to develop critical thinking skills, problem solving, and practical life application
Individualized Student Plan
Your child is not just another face in a classroom or a name on a screen. We value each of our students for the unique individual that they are.
That is why each HLA student creates an Individualized Student Plan (ISP) that allows us to identify different learning tools and techniques that will help each scholar succeed! It is similar to an Individualized Education Program (IEP), but this isn't reserved as a last resort. Instead, it's our honor to create each ISP with our students to ensure their success.
The Ideal Schedule
Instead of long work weeks with a few long breaks, we chose a schedule designed to give students shorter work weeks and more frequent breaks. This is intentional to help avoid overload and burn out.
Our school year begins in the beginning of September and ends in June. We've found that a shorter summer break helps with retention for the following year. To make up for a shorter summer, majority of our school weeks are only Monday through Thursday--giving students 3 day weekends. And we are intentional to give a few extra days off throughout the year to break things up and avoid a feeling of monotony.
Integrated Classes
Learning through different lenses.
Our professors collaborate on project & lesson planning so that our classes tie together in many ways! For example, our History class is integrated with our English class, making it an Honors course. So instead of simply taking a test, our students may write an essay or even a story that helps apply the knowledge they're learning about history while strengthening their writing skills.
Sowing Seeds for the Future
We want our students to be ready for the real world and be self-sufficient!
That's why we aim to teach practical life skills, along with educational foundations. We don't want to mold students into young adults that don't know how to function without instructions. We want them to think for themselves and know how to be independent!
That's why we incorporate projects that apply to life beyond school. Every semester students have a variety of projects that include cooking, business planning, and resumé writing.
We even have a class called Adulting 101 for our Seniors. It is especially designed to prepare them with basic life skills like gardening, budgeting, sewing, automotive and household operations.
Digital Journals
One of our exam alternatives is digital journaling! It's a far better tool for retention and comprehension.
Journals are a crucial tool at HLA. Students record their daily notes and progress on their projects in these digital journals on PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Microsoft Word. This is a way for students to have time in class to gather their thoughts and understandings of the lessons, which increase their retention and critical thinking.
These also allow you, the parent, to see exactly what your child is learning on a day-to-day basis. Plus, it aids teachers as they plan the pathway to continue the lesson. It shows the progression of where the student is at, where they need to be, and how successful the student is.
These journals act as exams and hold the main weight in their grades for each class at 40% of all scores. They are important for achieving retention and keeping record of their progress, projects, and areas where they're growing and where more attention may be needed.
The digital journals also become a valuable resource at the end of the semester! During the final presentations of the semester, the students have these notes to refer to for their achievements and to highlight them for the year's end. It leads to great self-reflection and aspiration for our students!
Field Trips
Because we are online and nationwide, we get creative with our field trips!
In previous school years, we have gone to 3 leadership & networking conferences in Dallas and Washington DC. Some of our students were able to actually gather in person to attend these events where they met inspiring individuals and ignited new dreams!
For one field trip, one of our students toured a cavern and was able to livestream with the class so we could all see an incredible site that we otherwise wouldn't have been able to experience!
We have also gone on multiple field trips that included art museums, symphony music, and we even attended a beauty pageant once to support a fellow classmate! We work with our students to plan engaging trips that they are actually interested in. And their creativity with planning these events never ceases to amaze!